Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given "Hold" Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their hold rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $499.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $397.27. The stock had a trading volume of 6,202,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,238,190. The company has a market cap of $102.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -199.63 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $470.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $475.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.